Molotov Heart {Alex Summers | X-Men}

3. rubatosis.

people said i'd be d e a d from the s o r r o w that i felt when you left

but i l i v e d; ain't that nice?

She learns the building, with all it's hollow halls and creaking stairwells until she knows it better than she knows herself. Only Charles knows the house better than she does, but he doesn't play hide and seek, so she often finds herself in the rafters, watching her brother and her friends below until finally Charles coaxes her out because Sean and Hank are arguing about dinner and Alex is just laughing at them. Its these moments that make her feel powerful, that show her that if she needed to, she could hide her friends, she could keep her brother safe.

Safe is exactly how everything remains, her birthday comes and goes with little fuss, Charles fixes up the mansion and suddenly it's a school full of unfamiliar faces. They're mostly older teens, on edge runaways who can't sit still and have trouble looking people in the eye, they remind her of her friends, of before everything went to Hell, right down to the way they're all eager to learn and train with the great Charles Xavier. Alone as the only six-year-old, a human among mutants, they look down upon her, but she glares back up at them, shoulders squared and posture straight from her place by her brother's side. The music students quickly find that there's something undeniably pure about encouragement from a child, and they look forward to the lessons that they see her by Sean's side, eyes wide and excited to hear them practicing. Harsh, however, is the only way to describe Aoibheal when she takes up position of referee – assistant referee – of Alex's gym classes, though he finds himself half laughing at the sound of her high, clear voice arguing with people ten years her senior about the finer points of basketball rules, and what exactly counts as cheating when all the players are mutants.

They learn to regard her with respect as she grows up as the youngest T.A. the world's ever seen, and a few of the kinder students even volunteer to tutor her in math and English. Taking them up on their offer, she eventually finds herself sitting in on Charles's lectures or Hank's lessons, even if most of it went over her head, she kept her mouth shut and wrote down what she could catch. When younger children begin to arrive – they're older than her, but only by a few years – she teaches them practical defence, like Erik taught her; they have their mutations, unlike Aoibheal, but they're eager to learn. She learns to adapt from the older mutants, the kids who can throw things with their mind, teleport close enough to spook her and then disappear again.

Aoibheal's latest tormentor is a seventeen year old teleporter who is particularly silent, and adept as Aoibheal is, she's still just a child. Never fighting back, ducking and dodging becomes second nature. She learns to avoid the students who see her history with Charles and the others as mere favouritism, their jealousy and resentment manifesting as unchecked aggression. The mutant shoves Aoibheal into a wall, disappearing in a flash wearing an expression of nervous surprise, and it's Alex that Aoibheal sees when she rights herself.

"Who was that?" Eyes flashing dangerously, Alex is livid. Aoibheal shrugs, expression more bemused than anything.

"Doesn't matter." Voice calm and unbothered, her tone is surprisingly nonchalant. Alex deflates a little, frowning down at the ginger. Aoibheal finds herself standing straighter, wanting to reassure him that she's fine; he's not usually so angry, not anymore.

"You need to tell Charles." His expression is more concerned than angry, and Aoibheal gives another helpless shrug.

"He already knows." Aoibheal bounces on her heels, nervous at Alex's sudden and bitter expression. "They're just kids." She tries to soothe his worries, but his expression turns to something sad and he pets her head fondly.